The Caretakers Cottage at the
Old Episcopal Burying GroundPhotographs by Eric Thomason, courtesy of the Blue Grass
Trust for Historic Preservation

The land upon which the Episcopal Burying Ground lies was purchased
in 1832 by Christ Church Episcopal as a
burial ground for its parishioners. The cemetery became extremely
important during the 1833 cholera epidemic during which Christ
Church lost approximately one thrid of its members. It was in
this cemetery that William "King" Solomon laid to rest dozens
of bodies when no one else would, thus elevating him to the status
of a hero. The burial ground also contains a small chapel that
was built around 1867 and is thought to have been designed by
Lexington architect John McMurtry. The small Carpenter's Gothic
style chapel later became a sexton's cottage.

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Another view of the Caretakers Cottage Photograph
from the National Register collection, courtesy of the Kentucky Heritage Council;
photo taken by Randy Meyers

Many prominent individuals were buried in this cemetery including
Mathias Shyrock, father of Kentucky architecture; Colonel George
Nicholas, the father of Kentucky's constitution and the first
attorney general for the state of Kentucky; and the family of
Col. Thomas Hart who was the father-in-law of statesman Henry
Clay. Hart was also a member of Richard Henderson's Transylvania
Company that aided in opening Kentucky to settlement in the 1770s.
Following the establishment of the Lexington Cemetery in 1848
many of the bodies in the Old Episcopal Burying Ground were re-interred
in the new cemetery while many of the old headstones were left
behind. The last bodies were interred in the Episcopal Burying
Ground in the 1870s. The historic cemetery remains a peaceful,
tranquil plot of land that is reminiscent of a time when religion
played a prominent role in people's lives and when the death of
a loved one came not just from old age but from a wide variety
of illnesses and epidemics to which the cholera pandemic of 1833
is a testament. The Episcopal Burying Ground has been known by
various names since its beginning; these include Old Episcopal
Cemetery, Old Christ Church Cemetery, and the Old Episcopal Burying
Ground.

The Old Episcopal Burying Ground is located at 251 East Third St.
and is still owned by Christ Church Episcopal. The cemetery
is not regularly open to the public but private tours can be given by appointment
by calling 859-254-4497.